Dear National Service Colleague,

The 2006 Martin Luther King Day of Service is coming up fast. This January 16th will mark the 20th year that our nation has celebrated the King Holiday. I hope every national service grantee will be honoring Dr. King by leading or participating in a day of service in your community.

Many of you are well into organizing your King Day projects, and some you may just be getting started. If you are in the first category, please visit our online project registry at http://www.mlkday.gov/grantees/signup.asp. Being listed on our nationwide database can help you attract volunteers, sponsors, and media attention. And if you need some help planning your project, there are some great resources and ideas in our toolkit at www.mlkday.gov. Also, posted below is the press release on our 2006 King Day grants. You’ll notice that we have changed these to three-year grants so that the organizations can have more time and certainty to find subgrantees and strengthen partnerships to carry out successful projects.

Dr. King once said, "Life’s urgent and most pressing question is, what are you doing for others?" This question seems particularly important this year. We will never forget the pictures we saw in the early days after Hurricane Katrina and the reminder for all of us that we are still a long way from overcoming the obstacles of poverty and need in this country. The King Day of Service provides us a perfect opportunity to join with others to move toward the "beloved community" of which Dr. King spoke.

In 1994, Congress mandated that the Corporation work to make the King Holiday a day of service to honor Dr. King’s life and teachings. It is through your work that we can and will make this happen. Every year since the King Holiday has been celebrated as a day of service participation has grown, and now there are thousands of projects across the country each year. But there is so much more we can do. Just think about the potential:

• Some 50 million children have the day off of school
   
• Nearly all government employees and a growing number of private sector workers have a holiday
   
• Dr. King’s message is still a strong inspiration to people of all ages, and that inspiration can be translated into tangible results for communities
   
• The King Day of Service can be a gateway to year-round volunteering by people who get their first exposure on the Holiday

One of the most powerful steps we can take to grow the King Day of Service is to achieve universal participation by all Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, VISTA, NCCC, and Learn and Serve grantees and sponsors. If we do it right, our network could dramatically increase the amount and quality of service taking place on the King Holiday. It can’t happen overnight, but it will over time, and I encourage you to lead the way.

As Coretta Scott King said, "The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others."

Sincerely,

David Eisner
CEO
Corporation for National and Community Service

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